http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000479878/article/biggest-headscratching-moves
[h=3]Ndamukong Suh to the Dolphins[/h]
This is not because Suh is a bad player. He is one of the three best defensive players in the NFL. My problem, and it's more of a universal issue in today's salary cap system, is why one would devote such a large portion of the salary cap to one player, especially a non-quarterback. Teams that have been the most successful over the past decade have relied on a steady churn and have been fine with allowing big-ticket defensive players to test the market. The Dolphins are trying to make a splash, but is this the one player who gets them over the edge? -- Conor Orr
[h=3]Charles Clay to Bills[/h]
Clay is a fine player. But he is not a superstar, and that's what he's getting paid like. Clay got roughly the same guaranteed money as Jimmy Graham's contract last year, and will be paid far more per-year than Graham over the next two seasons. The Bills gave Clay nearly $25 million over the next two seasons to dissuade the Dolphins from matching their offer sheet, but that is a huge risk by Buffalo before Clay's salaries go down in 2017. If he gets hurt or disappoints in Buffalo, they will have paid him like a starting quarterback when he could be fourth on the team in receptions behind Sammy Watkins,Percy Harvin and LeSean McCoy. -- Gregg Rosenthal
[h=3]Trent Richardson to the Raiders[/h]
I'm convinced Trent Richardson plays a magic flute that makes general managers fall in love with him. The Browns were so enamored by Richardson's potential that they traded up to the No. 3 overall pick. After an uneven and injury-plagued rookie year, Colts GM Ryan Grigson saw T-Rich as the missing piece in Indy's backfield, giving up a first-round pick to get him. And now, just days after the Colts gave up on the running back, Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie has inked Richardson to a two-year deal. The stakes aren't nearly at the same level for Oakland, but it's hard to see how Richardson is the solution on any level. -- Dan Hanzus
[h=3]Josh McCown to the Browns[/h]
We realized McCown wasn't "Making the Leap" long before last September, but the Browns never got the message. Coming off a disastrous season in Tampa Bay, the journeymen passer landed a three-year, $14 million pact from Cleveland with $6.25 million in guarantees. Believe it or not, McCown was the subject of a bidding war with the Bills.
Look, the Browns are desperate at the position. Teams without a quarterback are stuck in a tough place. Don't forget theSeahawks throwing a ton of cash at Matt Flynn three years ago today. That didn't pan out -- and neither will this. McCown is an expensive patch, covering a decades-long void by the waters of Lake Erie. -- Marc Sessler
[h=3]Jimmy Graham trade to Seahawks[/h]
The Saints can't beat the Seahawks, so they decided to trade one of their best players to them less than a year after giving him a monster contract extension. The Saints got a decent return for Graham, but this stunner sure looked like an impulsive move made by a team without a clear vision for their future. -- Gregg Rosenthal
[h=3]The Raiders' signings:[/h]
It's been three years, and I still can't understand the Raiders' ongoing flailing approach to free agency. After watching Nate Allen get lost in coverage for five years, Eagles fans and beat writers are downright befuddled over the $11.8 million in guarantees on the safety's new four-year, $23 million contract. Oakland fans have to be equally as puzzled by the $3.9 million ticketed for Trent Richardson, one of the few running backs less effective than ex-Raiders tailback Darren McFaddenover the past two years. Of 26 established veterans signed from other teams during the 2013 and 2014 offseasons, just seven remain on the Raiders' roster. -- Chris Wesseling
[h=3]Dwayne Harris to the Giants[/h]
From the moment it was reported that Harris would sign a five-year, $17.5 million deal, with a preposterously comical $7.1 million guaranteed,Giants fans have been doing double checks to see when those numbers will be refuted. Don't get me wrong, Harris is a good kick returner and one of the best all-around special teams players in the entire NFL, however he hasn't shown an ability to be a viable wide receiver target in four seasons -- 33 catches. We know Tom Coughlin values special teams, but $7.1 million guaranteed for a player who hasn't had a kickoff return for a touchdown in two straight seasons, was not in the top 10 in return yards in 2014 and rarely catches passes? Really, Jerry Reese, really? --Kevin Patra
[h=3]Eddie Royal to Bears[/h]
In a relatively depressed receiver market, the Bears gave $10 million guaranteed to a receiver that has topped 800 yards once in his seven-year career. It was just a random move, and felt a little more painful after the Bears grudgingly swallowed paying Jay Cutler big money into 2016. -- Gregg Rosenthal
[h=3]Ndamukong Suh to the Dolphins[/h]
This is not because Suh is a bad player. He is one of the three best defensive players in the NFL. My problem, and it's more of a universal issue in today's salary cap system, is why one would devote such a large portion of the salary cap to one player, especially a non-quarterback. Teams that have been the most successful over the past decade have relied on a steady churn and have been fine with allowing big-ticket defensive players to test the market. The Dolphins are trying to make a splash, but is this the one player who gets them over the edge? -- Conor Orr
[h=3]Charles Clay to Bills[/h]
Clay is a fine player. But he is not a superstar, and that's what he's getting paid like. Clay got roughly the same guaranteed money as Jimmy Graham's contract last year, and will be paid far more per-year than Graham over the next two seasons. The Bills gave Clay nearly $25 million over the next two seasons to dissuade the Dolphins from matching their offer sheet, but that is a huge risk by Buffalo before Clay's salaries go down in 2017. If he gets hurt or disappoints in Buffalo, they will have paid him like a starting quarterback when he could be fourth on the team in receptions behind Sammy Watkins,Percy Harvin and LeSean McCoy. -- Gregg Rosenthal
[h=3]Trent Richardson to the Raiders[/h]
I'm convinced Trent Richardson plays a magic flute that makes general managers fall in love with him. The Browns were so enamored by Richardson's potential that they traded up to the No. 3 overall pick. After an uneven and injury-plagued rookie year, Colts GM Ryan Grigson saw T-Rich as the missing piece in Indy's backfield, giving up a first-round pick to get him. And now, just days after the Colts gave up on the running back, Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie has inked Richardson to a two-year deal. The stakes aren't nearly at the same level for Oakland, but it's hard to see how Richardson is the solution on any level. -- Dan Hanzus
[h=3]Josh McCown to the Browns[/h]
We realized McCown wasn't "Making the Leap" long before last September, but the Browns never got the message. Coming off a disastrous season in Tampa Bay, the journeymen passer landed a three-year, $14 million pact from Cleveland with $6.25 million in guarantees. Believe it or not, McCown was the subject of a bidding war with the Bills.
Vastly overvalued because of a short-lived hot streak with theBears in 2013, McCown is a career backup who has yet to prove he can carry an offense beyond the occasional start. We know the Browns don't trust him when reports leaked that Cleveland attempted to peddle a first-round pick for a passer coming off back-to-back ACL tears in Sam Bradford.Look, the Browns are desperate at the position. Teams without a quarterback are stuck in a tough place. Don't forget theSeahawks throwing a ton of cash at Matt Flynn three years ago today. That didn't pan out -- and neither will this. McCown is an expensive patch, covering a decades-long void by the waters of Lake Erie. -- Marc Sessler
[h=3]Jimmy Graham trade to Seahawks[/h]
The Saints can't beat the Seahawks, so they decided to trade one of their best players to them less than a year after giving him a monster contract extension. The Saints got a decent return for Graham, but this stunner sure looked like an impulsive move made by a team without a clear vision for their future. -- Gregg Rosenthal
[h=3]The Raiders' signings:[/h]
It's been three years, and I still can't understand the Raiders' ongoing flailing approach to free agency. After watching Nate Allen get lost in coverage for five years, Eagles fans and beat writers are downright befuddled over the $11.8 million in guarantees on the safety's new four-year, $23 million contract. Oakland fans have to be equally as puzzled by the $3.9 million ticketed for Trent Richardson, one of the few running backs less effective than ex-Raiders tailback Darren McFaddenover the past two years. Of 26 established veterans signed from other teams during the 2013 and 2014 offseasons, just seven remain on the Raiders' roster. -- Chris Wesseling
[h=3]Dwayne Harris to the Giants[/h]
From the moment it was reported that Harris would sign a five-year, $17.5 million deal, with a preposterously comical $7.1 million guaranteed,Giants fans have been doing double checks to see when those numbers will be refuted. Don't get me wrong, Harris is a good kick returner and one of the best all-around special teams players in the entire NFL, however he hasn't shown an ability to be a viable wide receiver target in four seasons -- 33 catches. We know Tom Coughlin values special teams, but $7.1 million guaranteed for a player who hasn't had a kickoff return for a touchdown in two straight seasons, was not in the top 10 in return yards in 2014 and rarely catches passes? Really, Jerry Reese, really? --Kevin Patra
[h=3]Eddie Royal to Bears[/h]
In a relatively depressed receiver market, the Bears gave $10 million guaranteed to a receiver that has topped 800 yards once in his seven-year career. It was just a random move, and felt a little more painful after the Bears grudgingly swallowed paying Jay Cutler big money into 2016. -- Gregg Rosenthal
